St. Matthew's Episcopal Church is a historic church at 521 E. 8th Street in

National City, California National City is a city in the South Bay region of southwestern San Diego County, California, United States. The population was 56,173 at the 2020 United States census, down from 58,582 at the 2010 census. National City is the second-oldest c ...

. It was built in 1887. It is an active congregation within the

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

Church and is part of the Diocese of San Diego.

Design

It was designed by

Chula Vista Chula Vista ( ; , ) is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-most populous city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh-most populous city in Southern California, the 15th-most populous city in the ...

architect William Herman based on an initial design by Chula Vista resident "Mr. Crocker," who was inspired by a picture of a small church in the south of England. It was built in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style with Tudor influences. The tall steeple was a landmark which could be seen for miles.

History

An Episcopal Society for National City was formed on January 30, 1882; the secretary was

Frank A. Kimball Francis Augustus Kimball (January 26, 1832 – August 11, 1913) was an American businessman and horticulturalist. He is often associated with bringing the railroad to San Diego Bay, though he was also a prominent horticulturist and businessman, ...

, founder of National City. On May 13, 1882, the society became St. Matthew's Parish Episcopal Church. It met in homes, and later in the Grange Hall, with worship led by priests from San Diego. Elizur Steele donated the land for the church, and Kimball and his brother donated a piece of property which was sold and the proceeds used to construct the building. The first worship service in the church was held on July 3, 1887, and services have been held regularly ever since. The church was consecrated on October 24, 1890.

National Register

The church was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1973.

References

External links

St. Matthew's Episcopal Church website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Matthew's Episcopal Church (National City, California) Churches in San Diego County, California Episcopal church buildings in California Carpenter Gothic church buildings in California National Register of Historic Places in San Diego County, California Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in California Churches completed in 1887 19th-century Episcopal church buildings